时代周刊:散落在太平洋深处的黑矿石--解锁气候密码(3)

“The biggest risk to the ocean right now is global warming,” says Kris Van Nijen, managing director f the Belgium-based deep-sea-mining company Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR).

“目前海洋面临的最大风险是全球变暖，”总部位于比利时的深海采矿公司全球海洋矿产资源(GSR)的董事总经理克里斯·范·尼扬(Kris Van Nijen)说。

“And the solution can be found on the seafloor, where there is a single deposit that provides the minerals we need for clean-energy infrastructure¹.”

“在海底可以找到解决方案，那里有一个矿藏，可以提供我们清洁能源基础设施所需的矿物质。”

GSR has already trialed a 12-m-long, 25-ton nodule-sucking robot that zigzags² across the ocean floor on caterpillar³ tracks, kind of like a giant underwater Roomba.

GSR已经测试了一个12米长、25吨重的吸核机器人，它可以像毛虫一样在海底蜿蜒行走，有点像一个巨大的水下扫地机器人。

They dubbed⁴ their prototype “Patania,” after the world’s fastest caterpillar.

他们以世界上爬行最快的毛虫给它命名为“帕塔尼亚”。

Commercial mining is not yet permitted in international waters.

国际水域还不允许商业开采。

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N. body tasked with managing seafloor resources, is still deliberating how, and under what conditions, mining should be allowed to proceed.

负责管理海底资源的联合国机构国际海底管理局(ISA)仍在考虑如何以及在什么条件下允许采矿。

A few private companies, including GSR and Barron’s Metals Company, have scooped⁵ up a couple of dozen metric tons of the nodules on exploratory missions, and are now pressuring the ISA to approve commercial operations.

包括GSR和Barron 's Metals Company在内的几家私营公司已经在探索任务中收获了几十吨的结核，现在正向ISA施压，要求其批准商业运营。

Barron is already telling potential investors⁶ that he expects to be harvesting nodules by 2024.

巴伦已经告诉潜在投资者，他预计将在2024年开始收集结核。

GSR says that by the time they are up and running, they will be able to collect up to 3 million tons a year with just two of their mining robots.

GSR表示，到投入运营的时候，仅用两个采矿机器人，他们每年就能收集多达300万吨的矿石。

Not everyone is on board.

并不是所有人都赞同。

Scientists, conservationists , the European Parliament and some national governments are calling for a moratorium⁷ on deep-sea mining until its ecological⁸ consequences can be better understood.

科学家、环保主义者、欧洲议会和一些国家政府呼吁暂停深海采矿，直到更好地了解其生态后果。

The ocean environment is already under threat from climate change, overfishing, industrial pollution and plastic debris⁹, they argue; added stresses from heavy machinery¹⁰ and habitat destruction could tip it over the edge.

他们认为，海洋环境已经受到气候变化、过度捕捞、工业污染和塑料垃圾的威胁; 重型机械和栖息地破坏带来的额外压力可能会让它崩溃。

Three miles below the ocean’s surface, the deep seafloor boasts some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems¹¹ on the planet;

在海洋表面三英里以下，深海拥有地球上最具生物多样性的生态系统；

the perpetual darkness, intense cold and strong pressures foster unique life-forms rarely seen elsewhere, such as a newly discovered ghostly white octopus¹² dubbed “Casper” and an armored snail¹³ that researchers believe doesn’t need to eat to survive.

永久的黑暗、强烈的寒冷和强大的压力培育了在其他地方罕见的独特生命形式，比如新发现的幽灵白色章鱼“卡斯帕”，以及研究人员认为无需进食就能生存的甲壳蜗牛。

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 zigzags   

n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
• History moves in zigzags and by roundabout ways. 历史的发展是曲折的，迂回的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

8 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

9 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

10 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

11 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

12 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

13 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。